


Read Between My Lips

by Sevidri



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Bad Dirty Talk, Crack Treated Seriously, M/M, Sharing Clothes, Undercover Missions, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-26 17:22:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevidri/pseuds/Sevidri
Summary: “Martini, please,” Dick’s voice came through the comm, clueing Jason in that he’d at least made it to the bar. “As dirty as you can make it.”Dick and Jason need to get some intel. Dick decides to be the distraction. It's super effective!





	Read Between My Lips

**Author's Note:**

> Dear AJKyle, 
> 
> I interpreted your tag for Bad Dirty Talk very loosely, but I hope you still like it!
> 
> Many thanks to frecklebomb for helping me figure this fic out and betaing it for me!

“The intel should be on computers in the basement,” Oracle’s voice announced, into Jason’s ear. Beside him Dick nodded, even though Babs couldn’t see either of them. Or maybe she could, Jason was never quite sure which cameras she’d hacked into. 

“Okay, any alternative entries?” Dick asked. There was the sound of fast keystrokes and then a discouraging hum.

“Just the door at the back of the bar, I’m afraid. Their security sucks, so getting in shouldn’t be a problem, but if they notice they’ve been found out they’ll definitely change the date of the drop-off,” Babs mused, sounding frustrated. Jason knew she hated criminals who were smart enough to keep their important intel on computers not connected to the internet and thereby out of her reach. 

“No other security measures though? All we need is for the guys in the bar to not notice us sneaking in?” Dick asked and Babs hummed in affirmation. Dick turned to look at Jason. “Alright, I’ll distract them and you sneak in.”

Jason scoffed. “There’s like twenty people in there. How are you gonna get all of them to pay attention to only you?” 

Dick smirked at him. “Oh, ye of little faith. I can be pretty distracting if I wanna be.” Jason did not doubt that for a second. Dick was distracting enough without even trying on the best of days.

“Fine. So what’s the plan?” he asked instead. Dick didn’t answer him, just started rummaging around in the backpack he’d brought and pulled out a pair of gray jeans that looked like they were more Tim’s size than his and a black tshirt. Then he started stripping off his Nightwing suit right there on the rooftop.

“Dude,” Jason complained, glad that his helmet prevented everyone from seeing his face. “Some warning would be nice.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Dick said, not sounding sorry at all as he pulled the tshirt over his head. Jason looked away. “I’ll be done in a sec.”

“Well, I hope so,” Jason muttered under his breath, staring at the cement in front of him to avoid the temptation of watching Dick wriggle into the way too-tight jeans. Oracle was being eerily quiet. Jason wasn’t quite sure if that was a point for or against her watching them.

“All done,” Dick declared and Jason turned back around. The sight was only a tiny bit safer than seeing him with half his clothes off. The tshirt was loose enough at the neck to show his collarbone, but still somehow managed to cling to Dick’s pecs in an indecent way, and that wasn’t even saying anything about the skintight jeans. On further inspection, Jason was pretty sure they weren’t Tim’s, if only because the way they fit Dick’s ass seemed way too perfectly calculated to be a coincidence. 

“Oracle, perimeter check,” Dick announced and Babs snorted. 

“Maybe next time you wanna do that before you take your clothes off. You’re good though, no other life signs detected,” she finished and Dick took that as his cue to take off the mask, transforming from a vigilante in civvies into Richard Grayson, minor celebrity around these parts. 

“What do you think? Distracting enough?” he asked, spreading his arms and inviting Jason to take a look at him. 

Jason had to swallow before he could answer. “It’ll do, I guess.” Dick looked satisfied despite the lacklustre reaction. 

“Good. Give me your jacket,” he demanded. Jason blinked.

“What? What’d you need my jacket for?”

Dick raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the effect of that without the mask in the way. “To fit in, obviously.”

Jason gave Dick a long once-over, taking in the expensive fabric of the shirt and the fancy cut of the jeans. “I hate to break it to you, but there’s no way you’re gonna fit in with the dive bar crowd. Your wardrobe needs a downgrade.”

Dick snorted. “Obviously. But I gotta look like I’m trying. That’s the whole point. So…” He held out his hand in an impatient gesture and Jason reluctantly shrugged out of his jacket. Dick put it on without another comment, straightening the material and looking up at Jason expectantly. 

Jason found it incredibly hard to form words all of a sudden. The jacket was just a bit too big for Dick and it hid the perfect fit of his shirt, so overall it definitely should have made the whole outfit less appealing. It really didn’t. 

“So?” Dick asked after Jason had been quiet for too long. 

“You look like you’re trying too hard,” was all Jason could come up with. _You look like you’re mine_, was what he actually wanted to say, but he’d rather die all over again than deal with the way his insides coiled tight with desire at the image. 

Dick grinned. “Perfect.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Jason asked, shifting from one foot to the other. He felt strangely naked without his jacket, even though he was still wearing his thick body armor. 

“I go in and distract them. Once the coast is clear Oracle will give you the sign and you sneak in and get the intel,” Dick explained, then stepped up to the edge of the roof, looking at the darkness below dubiously. “Actually, could you give me a lift down? My gear should stay here, just in case.”

Jason was sort of tempted to ask just in case of what, but he just nodded instead and stepped next to Dick. He was close enough to feel the warmth coming off Dick’s body, a feeling that only got worse when Dick stepped directly into his space and wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck. 

Jason tried to keep some distance between them, even as he wrapped an arm around Dick’s waist in response, but it was all for nothing when Dick pressed closer. Jason’s breath caught. Their faces were close together, and if it wasn’t for the helmet Jason could have just leaned down and kissed him. For the helmet, and for the fact that most days they weren’t even sure if they were allies.

Before Dick could make some dumb joke about their compromising position, Jason simply took another step and tipped them off the roof. There was that exhilarating moment of freefall that he’d relished in since the first time he’d experienced it as Robin, then Jason fired his grapnel and slowed their descent. He wasn’t used to carrying someone else along with him, so the way Dick’s fingers dug into the reinforced fabric by his shoulders came as a surprise and he instinctively tightened his own grip in response.

He managed to set them down gently in an empty alley just behind the bar they were supposed to be infiltrating. For a moment they just stood there, still clutching each other. 

The last time Jason had been this close to Dick he’d been trying to kill him, he was pretty sure, even if the memory was green-tinged and blurry. He still remembered his elation at finding out he’d grown taller than Dick, but it felt completely different now with Dick looking up at him, his cheeks flushed from the night air and the thrill of jumping off a building, his pupils blown wide to account for the sparse light of the alley.

Jason took a step back before he could do something he’d regret and clipped the grapnel back to his belt. When he looked back up, Dick had backed off too, and was running a hand through his hair, taking it from windswept to artfully tousled with a few practiced strokes of his fingers. 

“Alright,” he said, and took a deep breath as if to calm himself. “I’m gonna go in and make a spectacle. You wait five minutes, then follow me in without your helmet on. Don’t draw attention to yourself and just wait for your cue, yeah?”

“This isn’t my first recon mission, you know,” Jason said, annoyance clear in his voice. Annoyance was safe, annoyance was neutral.

Dick just shrugged. “I know. Just making sure you know the plan.” He took another deep breath and something about his body language changed. His shoulders relaxed and he slouched a bit, tilting his hips forward. The change would probably be unnoticeable for people who weren’t as attuned to his movements as Jason was.

When Dick took a step towards the mouth of the alley he still had all his usual grace, but it was different somehow. There was more swagger, more flair to the way he walked. It was clear he wasn’t on the way to his first bar of the evening and Jason’s stomach churned, uncomfortable at what an easy target he would make in this state.

Before he could say anything though, Dick disappeared around the corner and Jason was left standing alone next to some overflowing garbage containers. He waited for another second, then took off his helmet, the smell that assaulted his nose making him glad for the advanced filtering technology. He stashed it under some cardboard boxes set next to the garbage and stuffed his domino mask into it before activating the defense mechanisms. 

The chances that someone would be dumb enough to try and steal the Red Hood’s helmet around these parts of Gotham were slim, but Jason didn’t like taking risks that could be avoided. He’d made the concession to the bats that explosives in his helmet were probably not a great idea, but the helmet would still deliver a nasty shock to whoever tried to pick it up.

“Martini, please,” Dick’s voice came through the comm, clueing Jason in that he’d at least made it to the bar. “As dirty as you can make it.” Jason almost groaned at the utter cliché of it all. He checked his watch. Still three minutes before he could go in as well. 

“O, can you turn up the sensitivity on his mic?” Jason asked. Babs didn’t respond, but soon the noises of murmured conversation and clinking glasses filtered through Jason’s comm, so his request had been granted. 

“Thanks, darling,” Dick said, right into Jason’s ear, and his voice was pitched higher than usual and just the tiniest bit slurred, like he could still perfectly articulate himself but just didn’t quite care to. 

There was the scraping sound of a bar stool being pushed back. “You don’t look like you belong here, kid,” a deep voice said and Jason tensed up automatically. 

Dick didn’t seem to have the same reaction. “Yeah, but, you know,” he started, then paused, presumably to take a sip of his drink. “Sometimes you gotta take a walk on the wild side.” 

“Is that so?” another voice asked, sounding amused. That wasn’t good. There were at least two people already onto Dick, and they didn’t seem particularly friendly. 

“Yeah,” Dick said, his voice still completely unbothered. “‘s boring otherwise, you know? None of those losers uptown know how to have any fun.” There was something in his voice that Jason had never heard before. 

Someone in the background laughed, but before they had any chance to say anything, there was a splashing sound followed by a dismayed noise from Dick. “Ah shit, I’m so clumsy,” he complained and Jason could just picture the face he’d be making. There was another, sort of wet, noise Jason couldn’t quite place, and it didn’t make sense until Dick’s voice comm again, sounding vaguely muffled this time. “Fuck, I’m all sticky now.”

Jason felt heat rush to his face, not quite able to believe what he was hearing. There was technically still a minute to go before he was supposed to follow, but leaving Dick to his own devices any longer sounded like an absolutely terrible idea. He burst into the bar with more force than strictly necessary, the door almost slamming against the wall, but no one even turned to look at the noise.

Not that Jason could blame them, because an available alternative was looking at Dick who seemed to be licking the remainder of his martini off his fingers in a way that would have fit in better at a strip club. Jason shifted uncomfortably, his pants feeling a little too tight all of a sudden. 

He settled into a booth close to the door but with a clear view of the bar. No one made any attempt to even hand Dick a napkin or something, seemingly content to let him embarrass himself. 

“So,” Dick said, turning to two guys on his right, who were probably the ones Jason had heard over the comm. They didn’t look nearly so confrontational now. “What’d you guys do? Got a job that requires muscles like that or are those just for show?” 

Jason suppressed the urge to groan at the terrible come-on, then had to fight really hard not to bash his head against the table as the guy closest to Dick straightened up, clearly puffing up his chest to look even bigger. There was a high chance Jason wouldn’t make it through the evening, would simply wither away from the second-hand embarrassment of having to watch this.

“I’m in— shipping,” the guy said, seeming to realize halfway through that telling Dick he worked for a human trafficking ring probably wouldn’t go over too well.

Dick hummed appreciatively. “Oh, like on the docks and stuff? No wonder you look like that,” he gave the guy another appreciative look, then seemingly unrelatedly ran his tongue along the side of his hand to clean up some residual liquidl. “Reminds of a guy I fucked that one time.”

Somewhere behind the bar someone dropped a glass. Dick didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest. “Well, I guess technically he fucked me but, you know—” he wiggled his hand from side to side— “potayto, potahto.” He leisurely took a sip from his almost empty martini glass, completely unbothered by all the eyes on him, then set the empty glass down on the counter. 

“Anyway, he could, like, pick me up and shit. Fucked me up against a wall once, that was hot as fuck. Could I get another one of these?” he asked the barkeeper, gesturing to the empty glass in front of him. 

“I think you’re good to go now,” Oracle’s voice said into Jason’s ear and Jason almost jumped. “All eyes are on him.” She paused, then added, “Just how he likes it,” with a wry note in her voice. Jason wondered if there was a story there but he had a job to do.

At the bar, Dick had gotten started on his second martini. He didn’t spill it over his hand this time, but the way he carefully nipped at the rim of the glass and then licked his lips was almost as showy. He slouched a bit lower in his chair, deliberately spreading his legs as if reminiscing about his past escapades was turning him on just a little.

“Hm, of course he wasn’t good for much else,” he mused just as Jason slipped through the door in the back. “I swear some guys just don’t know how to do anything but shove their cock into you.” 

The sound of him taking another drink could be heard through Jason’s comm. “Not like there’s anything wrong with a good pounding, but sometimes you want a guy to take his time, you know?” The sigh Dick let out was more than a little suggestive. He sounded a bit breathless when he continued talking and Jason could imagine the flush on his face, the way he’d be running his hand through his hair absentmindedly at this point, leaving him even more disheveled.

“God, there was this other guy. Fucked me so hard I was seeing stars when I came and then he just flips me over like it’s nothing and—” There was a pause, probably Dick taking another drink, and Jason realized that he was just standing in one spot, halfway down the basement stairs, listening to Dick’s story. 

He hurried the rest of the way down and made it to the server room before Dick started speaking again. “ —and I thought I was done, you know? But then he just— He was really good with his tongue if you know what I—”

Jason shoved the flash drive into the right slot. “Files are downloading,” he announced before Dick could finish his sentence. The little progress bar lit up and started creeping along way too slowly. Jason couldn’t take much more of this. 

The chair Dick was sitting on creaked as he adjusted his position again and Jason could picture it so well, him leaning against the bar with casual elegance, face flushed and his legs spread as if to invite someone to walk right up and— 

The flash drive blinked once to indicate a complete download and Jason yanked it out without any finesse. He needed to get out of here, as far away as possible from— 

“I didn’t even know that was possible, to be honest. I mean, twice? I guess, but three times? That’s just—” Jason couldn’t do this.

“Download is complete. Get ready for extraction,” he murmured into the comm, scanning his surroundings for any personnel that might spot him, but the coast was clear. He slipped back into the bar just in time to see Dick bring his performance to a close.

Dick closed his eyes, tipping his head back like he was caught up in a particularly pleasant memory, then tensed, and ducked his head as if he was embarrassed. “Ah, sorry. That was probably a bit...much.” He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, the perfect picture of contrite embarrassment and a great way to do a subtle sweep of the bar. When he met Jason’s eyes, Jason gave a curt little nod. Time to wrap it up.

Dick frowned down at his drink. “I didn’t mean to drink that much,” he confessed, turning the empty glass with his fingertips. “I just wanted a drink before my boyfriend gets here. Helps with the nerves, you know?” 

Jason took that as his cue. He pushed his way through the throng of people still surrounding Dick, most of them looking a bit startled now instead of enraptured. Dick made a big show of spotting him. “Jay!” he called, pushing off his chair with a bit too much enthusiasm and a beautiful fake stagger that ended with him half in Jason’s arms. “You made it!”

Jason snorted. “Been here for a while. Guess you didn’t notice, huh?” Dick’s mouth turned down in an exaggerated frown as he leaned even more into Jason.

“Why didn’t you come say hello? I was waiting for you,” he complained, completely ignoring the other patrons who were still staring at him. 

Jason shrugged, taking care not to dislodge Dick’s hands from his shoulders. “Looked like you were enjoying yourself,” he said with a frosty look at the people still ogling Dick, most of whom quickly found something else to look at. “Let’s get out of here.” He slung a possessive arm around Dick’s shoulders and pulled him close to underline that statement. It felt far better than it should to have Dick’s body pressed against his side, his warmth seeping through the clothes separating them. Jason really needed to get out of this bar.

Dick beamed up at him, the grimaced a bit. “Ah, I spilled a drink on your jacket. Sorry.” He bit his lip and looked up at Jason through his eyelashes, and for a brief ill-advised moment Jason considered leaning down and kissing him. The possessive display would have fit right in with their act, but he didn't. Instead he leaned in and whispered, “I’m sure you can come up with a way to make it up to me,” just loud enough for the group still standing close by to hear him.

The way Dick shivered in response was gratifying, right up until the moment Jason remembered that they were still putting on a show. The feeling evaporated when they stepped out of the bar and Dick immediately detached himself from Jason, ducking out from underneath his arm and straightening up to his full height. Jason hadn’t even noticed that he’d been slouching the whole time, making himself smaller to sell his chosen character better.

It just slipped off him like he was taking off a coat, and Jason was left standing there feeling too aware of every place their skin had touched, hungry for more. Because he’d fallen for the act just like every other idiot in that bar, and he should have known better.

The didn’t talk until they were back in the alley. “So…” Dick pushed his hands into his pockets, looking strangely defensive. “I think that went well.” Jason snorted, happy to be able to put his helmet back on.

“You know, someday you’re gonna try this shit on someone who doesn’t wanna fuck you and then your whole plan goes up in flames,” Jason bit out, sounding meaner than intended.

Dick let out a startled laugh. “There’s plenty of people who don’t wanna fuck me, Jay. That doesn’t mean they’re not curious. The point is being a bit scandalous, not seducing anyone.”

Jason felt too hot in his gear, and couldn’t quite tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. “So, what? You just make something up on the spot and hope it’s interesting enough to draw attention?”

Dick shrugged, looking uncomfortable in his civilian clothes and the too-large jacket in the dim light of the alley. “I dunno, I just start somewhere and see what works, what people react to, and then adjust accordingly.”

Jason laughed. “Do you ever stop trying to be what other people want you to be?” he snapped and Dick recoiled.

“What the fuck, Jason? What the hell is your problem? I got the job done, didn’t I?” Jason didn’t respond, too many different emotions still coursing through his body, too many things he didn’t want to look at too closely. He needed to get away from this. He took a step back and readied his grapnel. 

“Hey, you can’t just leave! You have to take me back up to the roof, all my gear is still there,” Dick complained.

“I have to?” Jason bristled. Dick glared at him.

“This was your mission. I helped you out and you’re gonna leave me stranded in an alley for it?” Dick challenged, taking the wind out of Jason’s anger. He had a point, as much as Jason hated to admit it.

“Fine, come here,” he grumbled and Dick put his arms around his shoulders again, not even a little bit concerned with keeping some distance between their bodies. For the third time this evening Jason was treated to the feeling of Dick pressing right up alongside his body, and this time he hated the thrill that ran down his spine in response. He wrapped his arm around Dick’s waist a bit more roughly than necessary. He wasn’t gonna let him fall, no matter how aggravating he might be.

He let go as soon as they were safely back on the roof and Dick didn’t say anything, just started rummaging around for his suit and mask. Jason scuffed his boots against the gray concrete of the rooftop underneath. He should probably apologize to Dick. He had helped him after all, and it wasn’t his fault that Jason—

He should apologize. Not that he was going to, but acknowledging flaws was the first step towards betterment or whatever. 

“Here,” Dick said behind him and Jason turned back around to find him back in full Nightwing outfit, his mask firmly in place, holding out Jason’s jacket and something in Jason’s chest twinged painfully.

“Keep it,” he said. Dick looked confused. 

“What?”

“Keep the jacket,” Jason said again. Dick gave him another slightly bewildered look, then slipped the jacket on. It looked even larger against the tight fabric of the Nightwing suit, and a lot more distinctive. There weren’t any other vigilantes who wore jackets like it. Hell, there were barely any other vigilantes who wore jackets at all. 

“I feel like some people might jump to conclusions if I swing around wearing the Red Hood’s jacket,” Dick said, following the same train of thought.

“I thought you liked things a bit scandalous,” Jason quipped. Dick didn’t move, just looked at him steadily through the white lenses of his mask.

“I like it a lot better when it’s real,” he finally replied, and Jason jerked back in surprise. He opened his mouth, then closed it, eternally grateful no one could see his face.

“If you don’t want it—” he started, but Dick cut him off with a shake of his head.

“No, I do. I’m just telling you that this isn’t some game for me.” Jason didn’t know what to do, didn’t understand how Dick could just say things like that. There was a small, vicious voice at the back of Jason’s head that kept yelling that this was a trick, that Dick was playing him just as he had played the bar patrons this evening, but Jason fought it down as best as he could.

“Keep it then,” he said with more conviction than he really felt. The smile that lit up Dick’s face in response was worth it.

“Alright. See you around, Hood,” he said, then jumped off the roof, the wind flaring out the jacket as he neatly swung over to the next building.

After a minute or so, Jason followed suit. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my little fic!
> 
> Side notes: A martini isn't actually sticky, since there's no sugar in it, but I didn't want to cut the "As dirty as you can make it" line so Dick is just making the most of his situation and pretending for ultimare innuendo potential.  
Also, the whole jacket-wearing thing is probably not great for their secret identities but...creative freedom, I guess.


End file.
